Fantasy Football Analysis for Champions by The Champion!

July 29, 2017

Tennessee Titans Fantasy Football Preview

The Tennessee Titans are a team that seriously intrigue me this year. A team that focused on running the ball heavily in 2016 has now made a significant investment in the passing game. Only time will tell to see how the investment panned out!

Must Draft Players

DeMarco Murray – Running Back

Derrick Henry – Running Back

Delanie Walker – Tight End

Okay, I said they made a significant investment on the passing game, but that doesn’t change the fact that DeMarco Murray is going to get his share of the ball. He’s not only going to get a lot of volume in the running game, but a lot in the passing game as well. For the second time in his career, he played all 16 games. He had 1,664 total yards with 53 receptions and 12 touchdowns last season. He hasn’t hit the dreaded age 30 yet, so I think he should be able to have a great season again this year.

In the event that DeMarco Murray is out for any reason, Derrick Henry will thrive as the starter. I do believe that he will have more of a role this season for two reasons. The first is how he produced last year. He averaged 4.5 yards a carry and was only given 110 carries. He also managed 5 rushing touchdowns. The second reason is that Murray is on the last year of his contract before the Titans are likely to part ways with him, so they could work Henry in more to get him ready for the featured role in 2018. He is someone who could end up being a bust this year, given he is currently being drafted in the 7th round when he is a back-up running back. He is still a running back that needs to be on all rosters this year.

Delanie Walker averaged 11.6 fantasy points per game last season. If you take out his monster 2015 season, he has averaged 11 points per game since 2013. If my tight end is going to give me double digit points per week, they are a must draft!

Players You Should Probably Draft

Marcus Mariota – Quarterback

Eric Decker – Wide Receiver

Corey Davis – Wide Receiver

In 2016, all of Marcus Mariota’s stats improved from his rookie year. He threw for an additional 600 passing yards and 7 passing touchdowns. He also rushed for an additional 100 yards last season. He averaged almost 24 points per game in the 14.5 games he played last season. With the additional weapons he has on offense, I could see his stats continuing to grow, which would make him a steal in the 9th round where he is currently going.

Eric Decker is a better wide receiver when he is the second option for the team. When he was behind Demaryius Thomas and Brandon Marshall on the Broncos and Jets respectively, he ended up as a number 2 fantasy receiver. In years where he was the #1, he averaged 59 receptions for 787 yards and 7 touchdowns. When he got to play the number 2, he averaged 84 receptions for 1,126 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Corey Davis is a rookie, but a rookie they took 5th overall. He is going to be heavily featured for the Titans and could produce for owners. He is worth taking and seeing if he and Decker can be a great 1/2 combo.

Players You Could Draft If Your Rosters are Deep

Rishard Matthews – Wide Receiver

Tajae Sharpe – Wide Receiver

Had the Tennessee Titans not drafted Corey Davis and signed Eric Decker, I would be telling you that Rishard Matthews is someone you should probably draft. He finished last year with 65 receptions for 945 yards and 9 touchdowns. I feel like the Titans don’t like him for whatever reason, which means he will end up being the 4th option at best for them this year.

Tajae Sharpe had very high expectations after the pre-season last year, but didn’t come close to living up to them as he finished the year with 41 receptions for 522 yards and 2 touchdowns. A lot of people ahead of Sharpe would need to be hurt before he had any real value this season.